Sex Education star Reece Richards ‘pepper-sprayed’ by police in London after witnessing car chase
Reece Richards alleges that he was pepper-sprayed and wrongfully arrested by Met Police officers. (Instagram/ReeceJRichards)
Sex Education star Reece Richards has accused police officers of throwing him to the ground and pepper spraying him before wrongfully arresting him.
Richards said that walking home after appearing in a West End adaptation of Hairspray, he witnessed a car crash just yards from his front door in Fulham, West London, on 4 September. He saw two men, one white, one Asian, leave the vehicle.
One of them “started running in one direction and the other “ran toward me where I stood with my suitcase”, the star added.
“Realising the police were chasing them, I shouted: ‘He ran down there, officer’, and pointed the direction they fled. Despite hearing me, the officer shouted that I was under arrest and demanded I get on the ground. I was confused, unable to understand why I was suddenly being treated like a criminal,” Richards claimed.
He then allegedly that one of the officers yelled: “Get on the floor or I’ll pepper spray you.”
They “ran at [him]”, pepper-sprayed him, kicked his legs and threw him to the ground”, he went on to claim.
“In a flash, I was face-down on the pavement with multiple officers holding me down, forcing my head into the ground. I was already injured from the show, but having four officers on top of me worsened my injuries to my back, ribs and stomach.
“I couldn’t see anything but I could hear my mum nearby, screaming and crying, begging them to let me go. Although I couldn’t see her, her distress was clear.”
After about 20 minutes in custody, Richards said Loose Women presenter Brenda Edwards, who is also the director of Hairspray, reached the location where he was held. “Immediately, the officers’ attitude shifted,” he said. “After reviewing body cam footage, they agreed to release me.
“That feeling of helplessness will never leave me. I’ve been stopped and searched before but never have I been arrested or treated like this. Witnesses have since told me that the culprits were also handcuffed but were not pepper-sprayed.”
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told the Metro that they aware of a clip shared by Richards on social media and that an investigation is underway. “Officers often find themselves in dynamic, challenging situations and have to make split-second judgments on which course of action to take,” they said.
“Officers had been pursuing three men who had run out of a car that had crashed in Fulham Palace Road after it failed to stop for police. It is clear the man shown in the footage was an innocent bystander and he was de-arrested as soon as this was established by officers at the scene.
“A complaint has been received in relation to his arrest. This is currently being assessed by officers from the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards, along with other material including the officers’ body-worn video footage.”
